Closure
by dudeguyone
Summary: An attempt to salvage Command's multiple endings. Venomian rebels are trying to topple Dash Bowman's new government. Star Fox pledges their assistance, but the rebels' plot is more intricate than anyone imagined. Fox McCloud and his team must not only face their current threats, but also the ghosts of their past. PLEASE REVIEW
1. Insurrection

Insurrection

Admiral Trevor Long watched out the view port from the bridge of his flagship, the Sentinel. The old Dalmatian wore a navy blue coat with gold pauldrons signifying his rank. A cigar stuck out from between his lips; though he had quit smoking, he still enjoyed having a stogy between his teeth, even if it was unlit. Admiral Long turned around, looking down at a pedestal in the middle of the cruiser's bridge displaying a massive naval battle taking place. After staring hard at the display for a few moments, the Admiral looked back around to the view port, where he could see the same battle raging just outside. Gargantuan capital ships slowly circled each other, vying for superior firing position, while hundreds of fighters danced around them, peppering their targets with laser fire.

Trevor looked to his right, looking down the side of his ship. A battery of double-barreled heavy laser cannons lined the hull. As he continued watching, the row of heavy guns opened fire, letting loose a volley of fat, bright blue laser bursts. The shots sailed through the empty void of space, before slamming into their targets, melting hull plating and causing shields to flicker and sputter. Long turned his attention back to the holographic display. His fleet of dagger-like _Defender_-class cruisers was scattered in orbit over the planet Venom. He'd been here before, many years ago. He had led the Cornerian fleet in it's assault on Venom back during the Lylat Wars, and had fought side by side the legendary Star Fox team during the final battle against Andross' home fleet. And here he was again, his ships descending upon Venom like hungry sharks. But this time was different. This time, instead of conquering Venom, Admiral Long and his men were here to defend it.

There were two other fleets in orbit above the planet. One was the Venomian fleet of _Guardian_-class battleships, huge, crescent-shaped warships that dwarfed even his own massive cruisers. This fleet was the home fleet of the NewVenomianRepublic, established by Dash Bowman after the conclusion of the Anglar War. The other fleet was made up of long, thin _Pulverizer_-class cruisers, old warships salvaged from the Lylat War era. When Long's fleet arrived at Venom, these two armadas had been engaged with each other in orbit. The enemy forces were made up of Venomian rebels and survivors of Andross' army from the rebellion on Fortuna. Dubbed "The Remnant" by the New Venomian Republic, these rebels started out as isolated riots and small skirmishes. However, as time went on, the incidents began to increase in frequency and intensity, quickly culminating in a full-scale rebellion as many Venomians who harbored hard feelings for Bowman's new government realized that they were not alone. Soon, Dash realized that he was in over his head, and sent a plea for help to Corneria. In response, Admiral Long's task force was sent in to help suppress the rebellion.

Trevor watched the hologram intently, his eyes darting back and forth as he monitored the battle. He reached into the display, touched a number of ships, and then selected other areas on the field. The captains of the selected ships would automatically receive orders to move to the designated locations. The warships began to move, the admiral monitoring them on the holo display. The ships reached their positions, encircling a small group of embattled Remnant and Venomian ships. The _Defender_-class ships turned, angling their prows so that each one was pointing towards a Remnant cruiser. Suddenly, bright beams of blue light lanced out from multiple points on each ship, the deadly lasers easily cutting through the targeted ships. These powerful lasers were 'Alpha Weapons', a term that referred to a ship's primary, forward-firing weapon system. The barely adequate defenses of the _Pulverizers_ were no match for the firepower of the state-of-the-art warships. The surviving ships fired retaliatory missile volleys at the Cornerians, but they did little damage.

From his command chair aboard his flagship, the Punisher, Remnant Admiral Joseph Caine watched as a volley of blue laser fire devastated a portion of his fleet.  
>"Tough old bastards, aren't you?" he mused, scratching his chin. "Well, I've got a little gift for you." He activated his communicator. "Stealth ships, free to engage, repeat free to engage. De-cloak and fire at will."<br>Admiral Long's eyes widened as several new contacts appeared on the hologram. He immediately activated his communicator.  
>"All ships, be advised, we have multiple <em>Weasel<em>-class stealth ships! Engage immediately!" Several Cornerian cruisers slowly came about to face this new threat, their heavy guns erupting violently. However, the stealth ships' shields were fresh, allowing them to absorb the volley of shots. Their front missile bays opened, launching flurries of missiles towards the Defenders, whose shields, unlike the stealth ships, had been whittled down by the constant harassment of swarms of starfighters. The streams missiles crashed into their targets, completely shattering several of the cruisers. A grin split across Admiral Caine's face as the dingo witnessed the destruction of the _Defender_-class vessels.  
>"And now the Coup de Grace!" he shouted excitedly. He put his hand to the comm piece in his ear, activating the mic. "Crasher, this is Caine; you're free to move in."<br>"Affirmative, Admiral, the Crasher is en route."

Admiral Long looked on with concern and worry etched into his face as Cornerian and Venomian warships began to divert their attention to this new threat. Though the stealth ships had inferior armor and shields compared to the _Defender_- and _Guardian_-class ships, their missiles were incredibly powerful, the concussive blasts knocking out shields and ripping off armor with ease. The Remnant now had a sizeable advantage. Long was attempting to coordinate with the Venomian admiral when one of his senior officers grabbed him by the shoulder.  
>"Sir, I think you should see this." Trevor looked at the officer. Fear was etched into the alligator's face, and his voice shook slightly.<br>"What is it, lieutenant?" Long asked, following him to his station. The officer pointed an unsteady finger to the sensor screen. The admiral studied the screen, and his eyes widened.

The blackness of space was illuminated for a split second as a circle of green light materialized. Out of it shot a massive _Storm_-class attack carrier, the Crasher. The dreadnought had a long, rectangular center, with a huge wing like structure on the right side and two smaller stacked wings on the left side. The immense warship immediately began unleashing starfighters and laser volleys.  
>"God help us." Trevor breathed. The <em>Weasel<em>-class ships had been bad enough, but with this kind of firepower against them, the Venomians and Cornerians didn't stand a chance.

He watched helplessly as several of his cruisers went down in flaming wrecks, and a _Guardian_-class ship was reduced to a blasted hulk, venting atmosphere. His fighters, which were already engaged with the original Remnant squadrons, were quickly being overwhelmed by the dreadnought's massive fighter complement. They were being crushed. Suddenly another warp gate began to form outside the combat zone. Another dreadnought-sized warp gate. Trevor stared at it in disbelief. This was too much for them.  
>"All ships, this is Admiral Long," he hesitated. "...full retreat. Repeat, all Venomian and Cornerian ships, full retreat, we need to regroup." His bridge crew looked at him, each of them with a hopeless expression. Just then, a voice sounded over the comm.<p>

"I hardly think that's necessary, Admiral." Trevor's head snapped up, his eyes wide open. He knew that voice. He stared at the warp gate as the new ship began to exit it. A thin, gray prow pushed through, followed the craft's massive, bulky superstructure. Four wings jutted out diagonally from the main body. 3 oversized plasma engines in the back propelled the gargantuan craft. A pair of oversized gun barrels jutted out from the superstructure beneath the bridge.  
>"The Great Fox." Trevor breathed. The dreadnought fully exited the warp gate, and immediately began heading for the combat zone. Of course, the ship wasn't the original Great Fox. In fact, it was the Great Fox III. Team Star Fox had used their earnings from their efforts during the Anglar War to replace their second-hand carrier with an updated version of their old flagship, which had been lost in the final battle of the Aparoid War. As the huge ship approached the battle, a line of bay doors opened on either side of the hull, each one housing a capital-scale quad-laser cannon. Dozens of smaller ports opened up all over the ship, revealing a network of double-barreled point-defense laser cannons.<p>

"Admiral Long, this is Fox McCloud. Looks like you guys need a hand." Long breathed a sigh of relief.  
>"Yes, Fox, that would be very welcome right about now. If you can distract those fighters, our cruisers should be able to take on that <em>Storm<em>-class."  
>"Don't worry about the dreadnought, Admiral, we'll deal with it. You just focus on those cruisers." The admiral opened his mouth to respond, a puzzled look on his face, the promptly shut it, remembering who it was he was talking to.<br>"Alright, Fox, whatever you say."

Fox McCloud, captain of the Star Fox mercenary team, grinned. Fox was (as his name suggests) a reddish brown fox standing at around 5'11''. He was wearing his light brown jacket with the red Star Fox logo over his chest, a black tee-shirt, his green flight pants, and had his red scarf was tied around his neck. He fixed his wrap-around head set to the back of his skull, making sure it was secure. He looked over to his two teammates: Slippy Toad, wearing a Star Fox jacket similar to Fox's, a pair of loose fitting brown pants, and, of course, his trademark red baseball cap. The squat frog stood nearly a foot shorter than Fox. His other teammate, Falco Lombardi, was a tall falcon with dark blue plumage covering most of his body. The feathers around his eyes were blood red. He wore faded blue jeans, a spiked leather wrist band, a Star Fox jacket, and a headpiece similar to Fox's. Together, these three pilots made up Star Fox.

He fixed his wing mates with a determined look.  
>"Ready to roll?"<br>"You bet, Fox! Let's kick this scum outta orbit!" Slippy cried enthusiastically in his shrill voice. Falco got up from the console he'd been leaning against and gave his head a few rolls to crack any stiff tendons in his neck.  
>"Hell yeah, Fox, I've been dyin' for a little action." Falco said in his heavy Brooklyn accent. Fox nodded and gave them a small grin. He turned to ROB 64, the team's navigation robot.<br>"ROB, do whatever you can to assist the Cornerian and Venomian ships. Focus on that dreadnought."  
>"Affirmative, Fox." The thin robot replied as it turned to the consoles and controls of the Great Fox. "Plotting intercept course to hostile warship: The Crasher." Fox nodded, then turned to Falco and Slippy.<br>"Let's go!" The three pilots took off at a sprint to the ship's hangar bay.

Fox climbed into the cockpit of his 5th Generation _Arwing_-class starfighter. The fighter had gone through various redesigns since it's inception. This newest model, strangely enough, strongly resembled it's oldest incarnation, the one he had flown during the Lylat Wars almost 14 years ago. Fox spoke into his mic.  
>"All set?"<br>"Falco here, I'm good to go."  
>"This is Slippy, I'm green across the board."<br>"Alright," Fox said. "Let's rock and roll." Three white and blue blurs rocketed forth from the hangar below the Great Fox's main guns. The Arwings formed up, with Fox in front, Slippy on his left, and Falco to his right. "Alright, team, let's take it to 'em!" Fox yelled. With that, the fighters descended into the chaotic battle.

Admiral Long could hardly believe his good fortune. He watched as the Arwings slid into the battle, and began to effortlessly devastate the enemy. Their dual laser cannons sent dozens of enemy fighters spiraling away in flames. The second-hand Remnant craft were no match for the top-of-the-line Arwings. The team constantly covered each other, making sure that any enemy pilots who managed to draw a bead on one of their teammates was instantly shot down. It was magnificent flying. He turned his attention to the Great Fox. The flagship was now picking up speed, making it's way towards the battle. More specifically, Trevor noticed, towards the enemy dreadnought.

Admiral Caine looked worryingly at the bridge main view screen. With Star Fox here, things, he knew, could very quickly go from rosy, to disastrous. He didn't like the rate at which his fighter count was dropping. He didn't like how he had lost 8 cruisers in the past 60 seconds. And he MOST CERTAINLY did not like how rapidly the Great Fox was closing on his ace-in-the-hole. The massive warship was now in the combat zone, only a few hundred kilometers from the Crasher.  
>"All cruisers near the Great Fox, engage and destroy it, I repeat, destroy the Great Fox, DO NOT let it damage the Crasher!"<p>

Several _Pulverizer_-class ships turned towards the Great Fox as it sailed by them. Their heavy batteries began blasting away at it, but it's powerful shields easily absorbed the shots. The dreadnought's own heavy guns swiveled in their ports, and returned fire, the massive recoil forcing the barrels back into the turret housing. Dozens of bright yellow light bursts slammed into the offending ships, wrecking several of them.  
>Caine let out a growl of frustration as his ships were effortlessly brushed off. It was obvious that the <em>Pulverizers<em> didn't pack the necessary punch to bring down the Great Fox. He had only one option: The Crasher. "Crasher, this is Admiral Caine. Concentrate all fire on the Great Fox."  
>"Yes, sir."<p>

The Crasher came about to face the Great Fox. The two immense warships seemed to almost stare each other down for a moment. Then, without warning, the missile bays on the Crasher's right wing opened up and began firing. A flurry of missiles flew into the approaching warship, detonating against her shields. As the Great Fox closed in on the Crasher, Joseph Caine desperately hoped that she would present her flank and broadside his dreadnought instead of using her devastating Alpha weapon. However, his hopes quickly fell as golden particles began building in the two massive gun barrels sticking out from the ship's superstructure. The cannons finished charging, and for just a moment, were silent.

Suddenly, the cannons opened fire, heavy laser shots slinging out of the barrels and into the Crasher. The dreadnought's already weakened shields dropped even further in strength as the massive laser bursts slammed into them. The Crasher responded with a huge volley of cannon fire. Though it lacked an Alpha weapon like the Great Fox, the _Storm_-class made up for it with it's huge batteries of heavy lasers. The shots slammed into the Great Fox's shields, and were quickly followed up by another volley of missiles. It's shields taking damage and it's primary weapon momentarily depleted of charge, the Great Fox came about, presenting her port flank to the Crasher. As the Remnant warship fired another volley of cannon fire, the Star Fox mother ship's portside battery returned fire. Red and yellow bursts of light crisscrossed between the two dreadnoughts, their shields flaring with each hit.

Trevor watched apprehensively as the titanic ships battled each other. Though the Great Fox was indeed a powerful ship, this kind of battle was where the _Storm_-class excelled. It was meant for long endurance fights, capable of slugging it out with other warships for hours in ship-to-ship broadsides. The Crasher had many more capital-scale guns then the Great Fox. In a plain broadside, the Crasher would almost certainly come out on top.

ROB 64's metallic hands danced across the Great Fox's control console as he directed each individual turret in the portside battery to target a specific point on the enemy ship. He checked the shields: 44% and falling. The sustained fire from the Crasher was taking it's toll, and if the shields broke, it was all over. Starships weren't much use if they were holed. All the oxygen would be sucked out into space, and ROB knew that asphyxiation tended to be detrimental to the health of organic life forms. Because of this inherent fragility, ROB knew he would have to finish this fight quickly if the Star Fox team were going to return to their flagship when this was all over. As the Crasher continued to hammer the Great Fox, the Cornerian warship ceased fire.

Admiral Caine watched excitedly as the Great Fox's guns fell silent. _The Crasher must have hit something important._ He thought to himself. However, his grin was gradually replaced with a look of sheer horror. The Great Fox began to turn, bringing it's prow to point directly at the Remnant battleship. As her shields dipped to 27%, the ship's main guns began to hum, yellow pinpricks of light forming inside the barrels. Joseph Caine watched helplessly as twin beams of golden light streaked from the cannons and into the Crasher. Her weakened shields collapsed as the concentrated energy beams collided with the dreadnought. The Alpha weapon cut through the thick hull plating with relative ease, right through the warship's center. The resulting explosions rocked the vessel as the two wing-like extensions fell away from the rest of the ship.

Trevor let out a sigh of relief as the Crasher fell apart, the huge battleship leaking debris into space. He reached to his communicator:  
>"Thanks, Captain McCloud, we appreciate the assist." It was a hell of an understatement: Star Fox had dealt with his fleet's biggest threat like it had been a minor annoyance.<br>"Glad to be of assistance, Trevor." Fox answered quickly, swerving through clouds of anti-aircraft fire. Team Star Fox swept through the fleet, engaging and destroying any Remnant fighters they came upon to ease the burden on the Cornerian and Venomian pilots. However, the anti-air fire from the Remnant cruisers was relentless. Streams of red light crisscrossed their flight path no matter which direction they headed.  
>"We're gonna need to do something about these cruisers, Fox, there's way too much triple-A!" Slippy shouted as he rolled away from a stream of laser fire.<br>"I hear ya, Slip. ROB, bring the Great Fox in close, tear these cruisers apart!"  
>"Affirmative, Fox. Registering all targets in specified kill zone. Moving to engage."<p>

Admiral Long watched as the Great Fox started moving in to clear out the _Pulverizers_. It was amazing to him that the warship could take such a massive beating and so easily move on to the next target. _Or can it?_ He thought. He turned to the holo display and searched until he found the Great Fox. He looked at it's shield capacity: 20%. Trevor paled; that was dangerously low for a fleet-sized engagement, even for a dreadnought.  
>"Fox, belay that last order." Fox paused.<br>"...I'm sorry, sir?"  
>"Belay that order, Fox. The Great Fox's shields are nearly out. It's done all we needed it to do, and losing it now would be a huge waste." Fox bristled a bit.<br>"Admiral, with all due respect, we're gonna need her."  
>"Negative Fox, pull her out of the fight, she's too big a resource to lose. It wouldn't be worth it. I'll have my own ships help you deal with those cruisers." There was a pause. Then...<br>"Understood, Admiral." Fox reluctantly agreed.

"ROB, pull the ship back out of the combat zone. Wait there for further instructions."  
>"Affirmative, Fox. Pulling back." Fox watched as his flagship turned away from him and began to head away from the battle. He turned back towards his fighter's controls. He had to remain focused. He jammed the accelerator forward, rocketing towards a line of enemy ships, his teammates right behind him. The Arwings swooped in on the nearest cruiser, rolling and yawing to avoid enemy fire. Their laser cannons blared, sending bolts crashing into the gun turrets and destroying them with a few direct hits. Team Star Fox pulled away from the warship to examine their handiwork. Their strafing run had destroyed roughly 30% of the ship's point-defense system. Not nearly enough.<p>

"Fox, forget about turret-popping, we're gonna have to blow these things up whole-sale." Falco said, surveying the insignificant amount of damage they had managed to inflict.  
>"Affirmative. Team, use pulse torpedoes to bring them down." The Arwings lined up for another assault on the cruiser. Below the nose of each fighter, green specks of light began swirling around in a large cannon barrel. In previous generations of the Arwing, they had had the ability to charge their laser cannons into a powerful homing shot, capable of inflicting massive damage on a target. However, it was discovered that this charge ability caused extreme wear-and-tear on the Arwing's power supply and weapon systems, which was why they needed to be replaced so often. In order to let the Arwing keep it's massive firepower, the pulse torpedo was created. The pulse torpedo is a burst of light energy containing hundreds of microscopic nanocomputers that are used to control the pulse through electrical impulses, guiding it to it's intended target. The only downside to this new weapon was the massive heat build-up: a single shot would overheat the weapon systems, leaving the fighter temporarily defenseless.<p>

As the starfighters raced towards the capital ship, they released their torpedoes, swerving away to avoid return fire. The streaks of green light slammed into the cruiser, whose shields had been stripped away by the constant fire from Cornerian and Venomian fighter force. Slippy's torpedo punched into the engine housing, damaging the warship's plasma reactors and causing a chain reaction of explosions to rock the rear of the ship. Falco's torpedo plowed into the superstructure, detonating and tearing a huge chunk out of the armor plating. And finally, Fox's torpedo sailed directly into the bridge view port. The bridge, along with the surrounding hull, was vaporized. The cruiser, crippled beyond repair, drifted away, spewing debris from it's gaping wounds.

"Now that's more like it!" Slippy exclaimed in satisfaction.  
>"Yeah, that's how it's done! Hope those navy boys were taking notes." Falco remarked smugly. Fox rolled his eyes.<br>"Alright, come on, we got a job to do here. Let's go!" They shot away from the wreckage, searching for another target.  
>Another <em>Pulverizer<em> loomed ahead of them. As they approached, the warship fired it's Alpha weapon, several dozen light orange beams flying out from multiple emitters along the hull and hitting a _Guardian_-class, knocking out her shields. The Remnant battleship followed up with a volley of missiles, putting several smoking holes in the crescent-shaped vessel. "Let's put that thing outta action before it does anymore damage." Fox said into his mic.  
>"Got it, Fox." Slippy said, pushing his accelerator forward and veering right, heading towards the prow of the craft.<p>

As he zoomed away, however, a squadron of Remnant _Interceptor I_-class fighters peeled off after him, laser cannons blaring. Slippy cried out as his fighter shook from the first impact. He looked over his shoulder, and his eyes widened as he saw the swarm of fighters tailing him. "Uhh, I could use a hand here."  
>Fox's palm smacked into his forehead.<br>"Same old Slippy..." he muttered. "Roger, I read seven bogies, 2 o'clock high. Movin' in. Hang tight, Slip. Falco, start your run on that cruiser, watch out for AA."  
>"Got it, Fox. Don't be too long, you might miss the party." With a cocky grin, Falco jammed his yolk to the left, his fighter rolling away and veering off to the rear of the target ship.<p>

Fox roared after Slippy, falling in behind his pursuers. Before the Remnant pilots had time to react to his presence, his finger depressed the trigger, his dual laser cannons barking out a harsh staccato. One of the fighters shattered, bursting into a cloud of burning debris and molten metal. As he went to target another fighter, they began to scatter as they realized they were being tailed. Fox blasted another ship into oblivion, but the rest fled his line of sight.  
>"Slippy, you're clear, break off and help me hunt down the stragglers!" Slippy sighed in relief as his craft stopped bucking, and his shields started to recharge.<br>"Roger that, Fox! Thanks for the assist!" Slippy yanked back on his control yolk, pulling his fighter into a U-turn as he went to rejoin Fox. The pair of Arwings took off after Slippy's attackers, their cannons blaring.

Falco pulled in behind the enemy cruiser, a grin plastered across his face. He was determined to take the ship down before Fox was done bailing Slippy out. Taking out a cruiser single-handedly would fuel his ego for at least half an hour. He locked onto the warship's massive engines, determined to cripple it in a single shot. He primed his munitions launcher, arming a powerful Nova Bomb. Despite the weapon regularly being referred to as a 'Smart Bomb', the bomb was, in fact, unguided.

_No problem for Falco Lombardi, though._ He pressed the big, ominous-looking red button on the top of his yolk. A small, red, conical object burst forth from Falco's torpedo barrel, streaking towards the _Pulverizer_. It crashed into the triple-stacked engines and detonated, the huge blast damaging all of the ship's engines. Without propulsion, the ship began to drift, retro thrusters along the hull trying to control it's course.

"Yeeeeaaah!" Falco shouted, throwing his fist into the air. He came along side the damaged craft, preparing to strafe it. However, as he caught up to the ship, a volley of red laser fire flew towards him. He attempted to roll away, but it was too late. Dozens of shots found their mark, instantly shorting out his shields. His fighter rattled as his hull and wings took a few hits. He pulled away as fast as he could, his starfighter billowing smoke. As soon as he was out of range of the ship's point defenses, he pulled a wide turn, once again facing the cruiser.

He had to take this monster down, but with his ship in this condition, he would be much slower and less agile. And a slow target was a dead target. Still, he had to try. Falco pushed hard on the throttle, twitching his yolk this way and that, making his fighter jink in order to throw off their targeting systems. He armed another Nova Bomb. He would have to deal with the gun turrets quickly in order to survive. As he approached, he could see the laser cannons swiveling in their housings, easily tracking the damaged ship. He steeled himself, ready to rush on into the inevitable wall of AA fire.

Suddenly, streams of green laser fire fell like deadly rain onto the batteries, shots cutting through the turrets and rendering them useless. Falco looked on in awe as a squadron of thin Cornerian _Jethro_-class interceptors fell upon the ship like angry hornets. They twirled and spun, spitting out laser fire in torrents. In a matter of minutes, the cruiser was a flaming hulk, no longer moving or returning fire. As the fighters broke away, a voice came over Falco's comm.  
>"Lombardi! Good ta see ya, dude! Looks like me n' my boys got here in tha nick a time!" Falco's mouth split into a huge grin.<br>"I'll be damned. Bill Grey! How ya doin', ya old hound?"  
>"Not bad, not bad at all, Falco. You mind if me n' my flight join ya?"<br>"Course not. More the merrier, right?" Falco fell in with the Cornerian fighters, leading them away from the broken Pulverizer.

Slippy pulled his trigger, turning his target into slag with a few bursts from his cannons. He rolled to the side, dodging away from a flurry of laser fire from a tailing opponent. Yanking hard on the yolk, he pulled a tight loop, falling behind his pursuer. As the enemy pilot attempted his own loop, Slippy quickly opened fire, shattering the fighter's shields and blowing several small holes in it. The crippled interceptor's wing flew off, and it spiraled away out of control.  
>"Yeah! Take that, you scum!" Slippy pulled a wide turn, watching as Fox easily downed the last of Slippy's would-be assailants.<br>"Alright, that takes care of those bastards. Let's go help Falco deal with that cruiser." The Arwings shot off in the direction of the targeted enemy warship.

As they neared their target, Falco's voice broke over their radios.  
>"Don't worry about that <em>Pulverizer<em>, guys, I took care of it." he said smugly. As Fox was about to answer, a voice he recognized cut him off.  
>"<em>You<em> took care of it? Please, feather-head, if it weren't for us, you woulda been cooked, dude." Fox and Slippy grinned at this.  
>"Bill? That you?" Fox asked.<p>

"Course it's me! Who else's job is it to consistently pull Star Fox's hides outta the fire? Besides Miss Monroe, of course." Bill answered, a devilish smile on his lips. He could almost feel Falco's annoyance at the feline's mention.  
>"Katt doesn't save us, she just tags along every once in a while!" Falco insisted. Everybody who was listening rolled their eyes at the comment.<br>"Alright, stow it, Star Fox, we got a job to do." Fox called out. Falling in with Bill's squadron, the fighters flew off in search of another target.

Admiral Caine breathed a little easier as the Great Fox left. He didn't know why the massive warship was pulling back, but he didn't really care, as long as he didn't have to deal with it. The Star Fox team themselves were enough of a problem; he didn't need to go up against their mothership as well. Despite this good luck, he was still extremely worried. Star Fox had been around for years, and the only time they lost a pilot was one retired, or quit. They just didn't die. They had fought through dozens of battles, gone up against countless foes, faced (seemingly) impossible odds time and time again, and nobody could manage to take the down.

He didn't know if it was luck, or if they were simply the best damn pilots in existence. Either way, if he wanted to win this battle, Joseph would have to put an end to their winning streak today.  
>"All ships, repeat, all ships, focus attention on the Star Fox team! If you see them, take them out!"<p>

The formation of starfighters flew through the battle, sweeping enemy fighters aside like gnats. With Bill and his squadron flying with them, Star Fox was doing even more damage. Things were going well. For the moment, at least. Falco looked down to his dashboard as an insistent ringing caught his attention. His eyes widened.  
>"Missile lock! Missile lock! Somebody's got my number!"<br>"Go evasive!" Slippy screamed. Falco didn't waste time with a comment about how blindingly obvious Slippy's advice was. He rolled rapidly to the right, just as several large missiles soared past him. He looked around wildly for his attacker, and then noticed it: a _Weasel_-class stealth cruiser, bearing down on them rapidly. It's pods flared to life again, launching another flurry of missiles at him.

"Why the hell is it only shooting at me!" Falco yelled in frustration as he pulled hard up and left on his yolk. His fighter climbed to the left, the missiles tracking him easily. As they drew closer, he rolled down and left, the missiles barely missing him.  
>"They must have noticed how badly damaged you are. They figure you're the easiest target." Bill pointed out. Falco mentally slapped himself. He had completely forgotten what kind of shape his craft was in, flying right back into battle without even considering his condition.<br>"Well, take it out! I can't dodge these damn things for ever!" He yelled angrily as the _Weasel_-class launched another volley.

"We're on it Falco, hang on!" Fox shouted. He gunned the throttle, blasting towards the enemy ship at full speed. He hit a small red button on his yolk, firing a pulse torpedo. The green light burst sailed forth from the fighter's torpedo barrel, impacting on the ship's shields. They flickered slightly, but held firm. Slippy opted for a different approach, coming along side the warship and strafing it with his laser cannons. Blue bolts flew into the cruiser's shields, but to no avail. The _Weasel_-class had weak shields compared to other capital-scale ships, but it could easily hold against small starfighters. This particular ship's shields were relatively fresh compared to other ships taking part in the battle.

As Bill and his squadron descended on the ship, Falco was pushing his damaged fighter to the limit to avoid the warship's latest attack. He pushed his engine to full capacity, hitting about Mach 7 as he swerved between battling warships. It was dangerous to do with his limited maneuverability, but it was less risky then absorbing the stream of missiles behind him. They were designed to punch through capital ship armor; a glancing hit would utterly destroy the Arwing, even if it had been previously undamaged. He spun and twirled, doing everything he could in an attempt to lose the pursuing rockets.

The avian fighter pilot flew towards a swarm of battling Cornerian and Remnant fighters. Falco grimaced. He had an idea, but it wasn't a pretty one. He would have to fly through the dogfight, and hope the missiles would impact on some of the fighters. _Hopefully not the Cornerian ones_ he thought. As he prepared to fly through, he noticed a massive Venomian battleship standing off a little ways from the group of fighters, it's point-defense rotary laser cannons providing fire support for the Cornerian pilots. An idea struck him.  
>"This is Falco Lombardi hailing <em>Guardian<em>-class battleship, are you receiving, over?"  
>"This is Captain Renard, of the VRS Rocko, we read you Lombardi. Is there something we can do for you?"<br>"Yeah, there is. Can I borrow your point-defense for a sec?" There was a pause.  
>"I'm sorry, Lombardi, I don't follow."<br>"I've got enough missiles on my tail to fry a corvette, and I'd like 'em gone, please."

Another pause. Then,  
>"Ok...uhh, sure, go ahead and pass above us. Our guns will handle your missile problem."<br>"Got it." Falco answered. He gunned his fighter, blasting over the enormous expanse of the Rocko. On the ship's surface, dozens of multi-barreled, gatling-style laser cannons opened fire, sending strings of golden laser fire above them like streams of molten gold. As the missiles entered the kill zone, the AA fire intercepted them one by one, destroying each one with a concussive blast. As Falco shot away from the battleship, he was relieved to see that no more missiles were following him.  
>"Thanks for the help, captain. Much obliged."<br>"Anytime, Mr. Lombardi. Try not to get killed out there, will you?" Falco grinned.  
>"No promises, captain."<p>

Fox fired another flurry of laser shots into the ship, the energy bursts slamming into it's shields. The shields were nearly gone, but since Falco had zoomed off with the missiles on his tail, the _Weasel_ had begun concentrating on the rest of the fighters. They had been caught off guard by the first volley directed at them, and two of Bill's squad mates had paid for it with their lives. The fighters were now hugging the stealth ship's surface, staying close to the hull to avoid being targeted.  
>"This isn't working! We're not doing enough damage!" One of the Cornerian pilots exclaimed. Bill was about to tell the man to shut up and keep shooting, when another voice interrupted him.<br>"Get clear of that ship! She's mine!" Falco's Arwing screamed toward the stealth cruiser, it's wing's folded back into Cruise Mode to make it more aerodynamic.

"Falco, what're you-?"  
>"Can it and move Slip!" Falco yelled. Without further argument, the swarm of fighters broke away from the <em>Weasel<em>. As Falco rapidly approached, he held his trigger down, firing a continuous stream of shots into the cruiser. He watched intently as the ship's shields flickered with each impact. Then, a shot broke past where the shields had been, and hit the hull. As soon as he saw this, Falco jammed his thumb down on the red button on top of the yolk. A Nova Bomb flew out from under the fighter, and rushed to meet the enemy craft, which was struggling desperately to come about and face him. But it was too late. The bomb hit the stealth ship, and detonated. The cruiser's weak plating peeling away like wall paper from the extreme heat. The ship shattered from the shock wave, various pieces falling away and exploding.  
>"And that, ladies, is how you get it done."<p>

A/N: Well, my first chapter of my first story! I'm feelin pretty stoked. Anyway, I would greatly appreciate reviews, but if you have something negative to say, please don't be a jerk about it, I'm willing to listen to any constructive criticism. Please point out any spelling/grammar errors, I'm constantly hunting the little bastards, but there always seem to be a few that slip by.


	2. Landfall

Landfall

As the Star Fox squadron flew through Venom's orbit, they watched as the combined efforts of the Cornerian and Venomian fleets steadily stripped away the enemy force. With their dreadnought gone, and their stealth reserves dropping, the Remnant armada was rapidly deteriorating. The pilots passed between a pair of cruisers broadsiding each other, swerving around the heavy laser shots that were slung between the two behemoths. They turned on the Remnant ship, their cannons blaring. The added fire gave the Cornerian warship the edge, and soon, the _Pulverizer's_ reactor went critical, blowing the ship in half.

Joseph Caine paced his bridge nervously. His ship was towards the back of his fleet, and had only seen minimal action so far, but the enemy was pushing further and further in. He was quickly losing control of the situation, and knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. Not only were his stealth ships being slaughtered, but his biggest asset, his most powerful weapon, had been destroyed almost the moment he had called it in. Defeat was imminent. Caine rubbed his forehead. He did not like losing. Still, defeat here would not mean that they had lost. They still had plenty of forces on Venom's surface. Even as he battled here, Remnant ground troops were fighting against the NVR army in major cities all over the planet. And even if the Cornerians managed to take the entire planet, he knew it would not end there. The dingo smiled toothily at the thought of what lay in wait, scattered across the Lylat System, listening for the signal to emerge.

Fox watched as the battle around him drew to a close. Cornerian and Venomian battleships were letting loose unforgiving torrents of fire onto the Remnant vessels. He observed a _Weasel_-class as her stealth field conductors overloaded, causing a series of chain explosions. He pointed his nose at the heavily damaged cruiser, and opened fire, sending a stream of blue laser fire into the stealth ship. With the added stress on it's weakened hull, the ship's surface burst open, spewing debris and crew. The warship destroyed, Fox turned away, seeking out a new target. With it's once massive fighter coverage now crippled by Star Fox's efforts, the Remnant fleet was in full retreat. Ships were warping out of system left and right, and those that were too damaged to run or fight back surrendered, powering down their weapons and hailing nearby enemies to tell them that they were standing down.

Caine looked on as his ships retreated. He wasn't angry with them. He had given the order. He knew when he was outmatched, and he realized that the smart thing to do would be to cut his losses. He would have warped out to, but, like most of the remaining Remnant ships, he was unable to. During the battle, a squadron of Venomian starfighters had breached his defensive line, and had made an attack run on the Punisher. His ship's point-defense systems had since taken them out, but not before they had targeted and destroyed the warp engines. The Punisher was stuck. Caine had no choice but to keep fighting.

Joseph had accepted the fact that he was probably going to die. He didn't like this, and was going to resist it with all his might, but he knew his odds weren't good. Of course, he could always surrender, but he did not want the traitors and their Cornerian allies to have the satisfaction of taking him prisoner. No, he would make them work for their victory. He would fight them until his last breath, and bring as many of his enemies down with him as he could. _Starting with their admiral._ Caine thought to himself.

Communication signals his men had intercepted had determined which of the enemy craft was their flagship, and he intended to bring it down.  
>"Move to intercept the Cornerian flagship. We're gonna make 'em pay for this battle!" he yelled to his bridge crew. They yelled back enthusiastically in response, throwing their fists into the air. Each and every one of them was unwaveringly loyal to the Remnant cause, and was willing to die to restore Venom to it's former glory. Just like him. He watched in anticipation as his cruiser began to move forward on an intercept course for the Sentinel.<p>

Admiral Long walked around the bridge, directing his officers as they and another cruiser, the Hammer, finished off a heavily damaged Remnant stealth ship. As the _Weasel_-class erupted, the Hammer turned away, moving off to provide fire support for it's fighter complement. Trevor smiled in grim satisfaction as he observed what was left of his latest kill slowly drift apart. Suddenly, the ship began to rock as blood red bolts of light slammed into their shields. Trevor looked at his holo display to see a _Pulverizer_ fast closing on the Sentinel.  
>"We've got an enemy cruiser closing in, let's take it out!" Long shouted, his bridge crew scurrying into action.<p>

Caine stared determinedly at his foe's craft as the Punisher's guns opened fire. _That oughta get their attention. _He thought smugly. The cannon shots hit the Sentinel's shields and detonated in crimson bursts. After a moment, the Cornerian cruiser's heavy guns turned to face him, firing their own volley. Joseph looked down from his command chair to his weapons officer and nodded. The lion returned his nod, and pulled a lever on his console. The Punisher's missile ports opened fire, launching several guided rockets which mingled with the volleys of cannon fire that the cruiser's guns were dishing out.  
>"Keep out from in front of them. I don't want their primary lasers cutting us up." He told his helmsman. The <em>Pulverizer<em>-class sped up, coming alongside the Cornerian flagship as they fired on each other.

"They're trying to avoid the Alpha weapons! Put them in front of us!" Long yelled. This ship's captain was good. He felt like he was being toyed with, and that was a feeling that rubbed him the wrong way, especially when his fleet was so close to victory. His ship turned in an attempt to bring their primary weapons to bear on the Remnant capital ship, but it was no use; the Punisher matched her opponent's moves with ease, avoiding the powerful main guns. After nearly ten minutes of battle, the Sentinel's shields finally gave out to the Punisher's onslaught.

Laser shots and missiles began impacting on the Sentinel's hull, causing severe damage. Entire sections of the ship were completely blown away by the sustained fire. On the bridge, consoles and monitors sparked and fizzled as the ship's various systems took damage. The controls in front of a junior officer exploded in a small but violent flash, the force knocking her back in her chair and shrapnel piercing her. The young dog slumped forward in her seat, dead. "God dammit, knock that ship out now!" Trevor practically screamed, turning to look away from the body of what had once been a talented and promising soldier.

"Sir, we're losing power! Primary generator has taken damage!" His damage control officer shouted up at him. Trevor shut his eyes. How could this happen? They had been so close to victory. He supposed that his fleet, as a whole, still was. But apparently the powers that be had decided that he would not live to see it. He opened his eyes and looked down at the officer. He had to appear strong for the men under his command. He did not want them to die thinking that it had been all for nothing, dejected and lonely. If they were going to die, they would die fighting, staring the enemy in the face.

"Divert emergency power to weapons, including engines and shields. The only thing I want running besides our guns is life support." He said confidently.  
>"Sir...?" the elephant looked up at him, looking very confused, and a little bit scared.<br>"If we're going down, then we're bringing as many of those bastards with us as we possibly can. I want that ship reduced to molten slag. Is that clear, lieutenant?" he growled, fierce determination burning in his eyes.  
>"Uhh..y-yes sir!" the officer responded, immediately getting to work. Trevor looked through the view port out at the opposing cruiser as it continued to hammer the Sentinel. <em>Ahh, what the Hell? <em>He thought, reaching into his pocket for a lighter.

As he was about to light up his cigar, a wave of pulse torpedoes flew over his ship and rammed into the Punisher, the green balls of contained energy detonating and ripping through her shields. Trevor's cigar dropped out of his open mouth as a squadron of Arwings and _Jethro_-class fighters shot past his crippled warship. He couldn't believe it. This was twice in a row that Star Fox had saved his hide. Someone upstairs was looking out for him today.  
>"Admiral, get your ship outta there! You're in no condition to fight!" Long snapped out of it.<br>"Not yet, captain, you're going to need some fire support. You're just the advantage we nee-"  
>"Trevor, that wasn't a suggestion! Send another cruiser." Fox yelled, cutting him off.<p>

After a moment, Admiral Long answered.  
>"Alright, captain. We're pulling back. The CRS Freedom Fighter will be along momentarily to help you out. Long out." Fox watched the crippled battlecruiser turn away, it's guns ceasing fire as it diverted all power to it's engines. He took a moment to rub his forehead, vainly trying to alleviate some of the stress he was feeling. Though Fox was an excellent pilot, the effects of a long, drawn-out battle were beginning to take hold on him. He stretched a little in his seat, getting a few satisfying cracks from his back, then brought his fighter into a roll, peppering the enemy ship with shots. He was forced to swerve away though, as the ship's point-defense guns answered in kind.<p>

"Dammit, where's the Freedom Fighter?" Bill shouted in frustration as he, too, had to pull away from the Punisher as it fired at him. He flew a ways away, then pulled a U-turn to face back towards the behemoth craft. He jammed his finger under the trigger, letting loose a steady stream of laser fire. Their combined fire was having little effect on the cruiser. They needed to use heavier ordnance.  
>"Falco, Slip, use Novas." Fox commanded. Fox's craft shuddered a little as his teammates rocketed past him, heading straight for the Punisher. The fighters released their deadly payloads, and swerved away to avoid the triple A. The projectiles detonated against the Remnant ship's shields, shattering them in a huge flash of light and fire.<p>

"Shields down! Shields down!" screamed the Punisher's damage control officer. Joseph Caine stared hard at his view screen, watching the enemy fighters swirl around his flagship. With their shields down, the Cornerian craft were starting to inflict heavy damage. Even without fire support from the Cornerian flagship, the fighters were proving too much for them. All around him, his bridge crew was beginning to panic. Their voices were growing louder and more frantic, their actions erratic. One if his less experienced officers got up from his chair, shaking slightly.

"We're screwed. We're screwed! We gotta go. We gotta get outta here! We gotta-hngh!" The tiger was cut off as Caine calmly drew his holdout blaster and shot him in the chest. The man was dead before he hit the floor.  
>"Does anyone else want to leave?" Caine asked calmly, holstering his pistol. He knew it was a cliché, but he felt it appropriate. The officers looked from Caine to the still-smoking corpse and got back to work, trying their best to keep their composure. <em>That's what I thought. <em>Caine thought smugly. However, his self-satisfaction was interrupted as the ship rocked with a massive explosion.

"They're launching Novas against the hull, sir!" His DC officer informed him, keeping as calm as he could while trying to avoid looking at the body of his crewmate.  
>"Divert all power to point defense guns!" Caine shouted. "I want everything drained except life support! Engines, heavy guns, everything, off, now!"<br>"Cornerian warship approaching, sir! They're targeting us!"  
>"God dammit!" Caine bellowed, slamming his fist down on the arm of his chair. The increasing odds were driving his blood pressure up, and his calm demeanor was slipping because of it.<p>

"Should I power up the capital guns, sir?" Caine's gunnery officer asked in a panicked tone. Caine took a moment to consider it. The extra power would not make too much of a difference, and they needed to defend against the inbound cruiser.  
>"Yes. Power them up and fire on the enemy cruiser."<br>"Yes, sir!" The officer responded. The Punisher's main guns came to life, and started hurtling crimson bolts at the oncoming Cornerian warship. The Freedom Fighter answered in kind, a volley of heavy fire rolling forth like a wave crashing towards the shore.

The Punisher's shots hit the Cornerian warship, detonating against it's shields, but failing to break through. A moment later, the Freedom Fighter's shots found their target, with far more devastating results. Without her shields to protect her, the Punisher's hull melted away like butter against the onslaught.  
>"Critical damage!" Caine's DC officer shouted. Another explosion rocked the cruiser as a Nova bomb hit the superstructure. Caine looked to his command console, watching the readouts inform him of his ship's imminent demise. He wore a grim smile as another volley of cannon fire chewed into the Punisher. There was a point to all of this, a silver lining he looked forward to, even if he wouldn't live to see it.<p>

Fox brought his fighter around, preparing to make another pass on the Remnant flagship_. _He faced the ship head on, streaking forward towards the bridge. A few shots from the point-defense guns glanced off of his shields, but he kept on course, waiting for his secondary weapon to lock onto the bridge. After a few agonizing seconds, his console flashed and gave off a continuous tone, announcing a weapons lock. Joseph Caine watched the approaching fighter much more calmly then he had expected he would. _Guess I'm ready to die. _He thought to himself. He stared unblinkingly as the fighter release it's payload, watching the incoming bomb get larger and brighter, and, with a bright flash of light, he saw no more.

The Nova bomb tore into the unshielded bridge, detonating in a spectacular fireball. Fox watched with satisfaction as the warship began to list, smoking from the numerous gaping wounds inflicted by the Cornerian forces. The Freedom Fighter let loose a few more volleys for good measure, shredding the battleship. The flagship of the Remnant fleet was no more. Across the stellar battlefield, Cornerian and Venomian forces were mopping up what remained of the rebel armada. Soon, all Remnant ships that remained were those too damaged to run away or fight back. These ships quickly surrendered. After hours of hard fighting, the battle was finally over.

Fox looked out through his cockpit across the huge formations of warships, and the massive field of debris that had been created from the battle. Venom would have some spectacular meteor showers over the next couple of days. Fox was interrupted from his thoughts as a voice came in over his comm. "Damn fine job, Fox. We owe you one...again." Admiral Long said.  
>"Just doing my job, sir. You don't owe me anything." Fox replied.<br>"Though a grade A steak and a massage wouldn't hurt." Falco interjected. Before Fox could shut him up, the admiral replied.  
>"I'll see what I can do, Falco." he said with a chuckle. Falco grinned.<br>"Looking forward to it, admiral."

Fox cut in, trying to get his team re-focused. "Alright, we can live a life of luxury later; we've still got a job to do, right?"  
>"Right." Trevor answered. "There are still Remnant ground forces fighting on Venom's surface. We need to defeat them, or at the very least, push them off-planet. NVR troops are putting up a hell of a fight, but they weren't ready for this. They're being pushed back further every day. With the assistance of the Cornerian military, however, we should be able to defeat them with little trouble." Fox nodded to himself. Made sense. There was no way a band of rebels could defeat two professional militaries.<p>

"Alright. ROB, bring the Great Fox in. Land her with the rest of the Cornerian forces, and begin unloading equipment for ground assault." Fox ordered.  
>"Affirmative" came the monotone reply.<br>"Alright team, form up. We're heading in." The squadron of Arwings took off, joining the Cornerian fleet as it began it's descent to Venom's surface. The noses of the various warships began to burn as they punched into the atmosphere, the friction heating their hulls up by thousands of degrees.

Fox tried to look through his cockpit, but his view was blocked by the fire streaking around his craft. Instead, he relied on his sensors to tell him what was around him. Eventually, the fleet began to break through the atmosphere, the prows of several ships pushing through into the swirling green clouds of Venom. Though the clouds were still considered toxic to breathe, atmosphere converters set up by Bowman's government had been steadily working to reduce the toxicity level since he had come to power, making the planet more easily habitable by races not native to Venom.

As the Cornerian ships began to break through the clouds, they found themselves above one of Venom's massive oceans. The glittering green sea stretched for miles in all directions below them. The assortment of spacecraft leveled out, and Fox could now see from his cockpit a landmass on the horizon. It was Goria, one of Venom's continents. As well as being the home of the new Venomian capital, Goria was also reportedly the home of the heaviest fighting.

The fleet finally passed over the shoreline, and began to spread out, setting down in open areas on the rocky surface. Star Fox put their fighters down on a plateau, making sure to leave room for their mothership. The Great Fox wasn't far behind, slowly coming to ground, massive landing gear unfolding from the bottom of the ship to support itself. The pilots jumped down from their fighters as the ship landed, the ground trembling slightly under it's tremendous weight.

Fox walked over to the side of the Great Fox, meeting his comrades there. A massive ramp lowered down from the side of her hull, touching down on the ground with a muted thump. "Alright, let's get to it." Fox said, motioning forwards. The trio walked up the ramp and into their ship. Making their way to the ship's armory, the mercenaries began sorting through weapons, ammunition, and supplies, strapping on the equipment they deemed necessary. Fox walked over to the rifle rack, selecting a Cornerian standard-issue C-30 battle rifle. He strapped his holstered C-40 pistol to his waist, and slipped into a tactical vest. The vest had heat-dissipating properties, but wasn't much defense against a direct hit from an energy weapon, and was completely useless against projectiles.

To make up for this, he grabbed a small, octagonal device, and secured it to his hip. Reaching down, he thumbed a switch on the machine, causing the shield generator to hum to life. Personal shield generators were a must in infantry combat, giving soldiers unparalleled protection in battle. Satisfied, Fox slipped batteries for his weapons into pockets on his vest, watching as his eyepiece picked up how many spare shots he had total and the current charge of his shield generator, displaying the information on screen as it scanned his body. He shoved his feet into a pair of combat boots, and secured the metal straps that held them in place.

Fox slung his rifle over his shoulder, and looked to his teammates. Falco had also finished gearing up, selecting his own C-40 pistol as a sidearm, but also going for a powerful H-223 Hydra support weapon. The light machine gun was cumbersome, unwieldy, and weighed a ton, but it could lay down a withering hail of fire. Slippy had armed himself with a smaller NV-57 holdout pistol, and a LAP-9 Lightning SMG, as well as shoving particle grenades in every spare pocket. Eyeing the spherical bulges in Slippy's vest, Falco edged away from him. "Do me a favor, Slip: if you're going to get shot, make sure you stay away from me."

Slippy rolled his eyes as he reached down to his waist, powering up his shield generator. "All set." He said as the device hummed to life. "Alright. Let's move." Fox answered. The mercenary team left the armory and exited the ship, walking back down the ramp. All around them, they could see the proud forms of Cornerian warships touching down on Venom's surface. A dropship had landed outside, and several Cornerian troopers were waiting for them. Fox looked at the equipment that ROB had unloaded. The team's Landmaster arsenal was lined up by the fighters, 3 Landmaster III main battle tanks and 3 Landmaster IV light armored vehicles. Fox turned his attention to the leader of the troopers as he approached them. The cheetah threw up a crisp salute. "Sir." He said, addressing Fox, who returned the gesture.  
>"What's the situation, soldier?" The officer brought up his arm, and pointed to the data being displayed on his wrist computer.<p>

"Heavy fighting in the capital, which makes sense. If the Remnant are going to stop what Bowman's done, removing the man himself is one of the best ways for them to go about it. Luckily, the presidential bunker has remained undetected so far. Bowman's coordinating planetary defense from there, but they're getting hit hard, especially in the city." The officer lowered his wrist, looking back up to Fox. "General Hudson will want to give you the full details. He's in charge of the invasion, sir. We'll take you to him." Fox nodded.  
>"Understood. Lead the way." The cheetah gestured for him to follow the troopers to their dropship. They piled in, the back door shutting behind them.<p>

The craft took off, it's thrusters swiveling backwards once it had gained enough altitude, propelling it forward. All around, dropships and fighters were taking off, moving into formations as they prepared to attack the capital city. After a brief flight, the dropship arrived at a pre-fabricated command center towards the rear of the Cornerian fleet. The ramp opened, allowing the men inside to step out. The structure was small and unimpressive, simply a fifty-foot alloy box. While the Cornerian troopers waited outside, team Star Fox stepped into the command center. Inside, dozens of men and women were working at various stations and consoles, monitoring, directing, coordinating.

In the center of it all, a dog in a red and gold general's uniform stood among his soldiers, observing them, and handing out the occasional order. Fox made his way to the general, Falco and Slippy on either side. He reached the man, and held out his hand. "General Hudson?" The dog looked at him, and a flash of annoyance seemed to cross his face.  
>"Oh. McCloud." He said, ignoring the offered handshake. Fox didn't answer; he wasn't sure what to make of the general's reaction. "Well, what do you need? I have a lot to see to, as you can see." Fox gritted his teeth. <em>Well, this guy's an ass. <em>Pushing his frustration away, he forced himself to stay professional. "We wanted to know what the plan was, general. How we're going to hit the city, what we're up against, that sort of thing."

Hudson looked at him a moment longer, then gestured towards a holographic display in front of him. "Fine. Guess you mercs need a little direction. The Remnant forces are spread throughout the city. They've got heavy armor and anti-air units supporting their infantry." Several images of Remnant tanks and mechs sprang to life on the display. "We're going to sweep them out, one big offensive wave. I want you and your team to provide armor support for my infantry. You'll be joining one of our tank columns in the first charge." He eyed the three mercenaries. "Think you flyboys can handle a little ground action?" He sneered. Falco bristled at that. "Don't insult me, _general._" He retorted, lacing the last word with contempt. "We'll save the day for you, don't you worry 'bout that."

Hudson stared at the bird for a few moments, then turned away. "Good. Now get moving, we move out in two hours." Fox, Slippy and Falco stared after him, then turned to each other. "What the Hell?" Falco finally said. Slippy nodded in agreement.  
>"Yeah, what is that guy's problem?"<br>"Guess he doesn't like mercenaries." Fox answered. Falco rolled his eyes.  
>"Oh, yeah, that makes sense, seeing as we've saved the Lylat system, what, 3 times now? Jackass."<br>"We'll worry about it later." Fox said, slapping Falco on the shoulder. "We've got a job to do." With that, the team left the command center, and headed back to the dropship. The Cornerian officer was waiting for them. "We've gone ahead and moved your MBTs to the staging area. We'll take you there now, sir." Fox nodded. It was time to get this show on the road.

The dropship shot away from the command center, rapidly approaching the front of the fleet. Fox left his seat and headed up to the craft's cockpit. Looking past the pilot and through the wind screen, he could see the outline of Venom's capital, Saska, up ahead. Trails of smoke disrupted the outlines of towers and skyscrapers, and the sky above the city was filled with the small pops and puffs of anti-air fire. _Well, _Fox thought. _Here it comes._


End file.
